


Letting Echo Go

by junkyreen



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Hurt/Comfort, no beta we die like men, season 7 episode 4 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:22:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24120514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junkyreen/pseuds/junkyreen
Summary: Far out, there is a soft echo. Rex hears it, and decides he must find its source.
Relationships: CT-21-0408 | Echo & CT-7567 | Rex
Comments: 2
Kudos: 34





	Letting Echo Go

**Author's Note:**

> to be clear. the & means this isnt shippy. this is a friendship fic.
> 
> also! has spoilers for season 7 episode 4

The war had been going on for years now. A long, long two and a half years that felt a lot more like they were thirty. Rex was one of the few who had been there since the beginning. So many of his  _ vode  _ had died. He had lost so many of them. Out of the ones he was closest to, it was just Cody left. Even then, the only times they got to see each other was when they were either working together on a mission or the rare time they had leave at the same time. Rex wished they were able to spend more time together. It was something Rex was sure to regret if Cody ever did die during the war.

Force forbid that that would ever happen. Rex knew he couldn’t handle losing another  _ vod  _ that he was so close to _.  _ Not when Cody was the last one left.

Or so he thought. For a long time, he thought that Cody and him were the last left of a group of close brothers. Until he got this… feeling. Something that would make him sound crazy if he were to tell anyone. He knew that, but nothing could stop this feeling. Soon, this feeling turned into something more. There was merit behind it. Signs… actually pointed to this feeling being more than that; like it was a fact.

Cody didn’t believe him when Rex told him which… hurt. It did. Rex understood why he didn’t believe him because it barely made sense. He understood that it didn’t make any sense. Echo was in an explosion, by all accounts he shouldn’t be alive. But… Rex knew it was true.

But Echo was alive. Rex had found him- found the  _ vod  _ he had been missing for so long. He was back, and Rex was ecstatic. He finally was with someone who had been there since the beginning that wasn’t Cody. Echo had missed a lot but… He was still there when it started. Deep down, he knew that it wouldn’t last. Things never did for him, it seemed. 

Nevertheless, they went on the mission. It was hard, and it was a necessary struggle, but with their combined efforts they all made it. Echo was still alive after it all.

Rex was happier than he had been in a while. He wanted this to last forever. He knew it wouldn’t when Echo didn’t follow him immediately. So he turned back, and walked back to Echo with a determined look on his face. He wouldn’t let his  _ vod  _ suffer any more, even if that meant letting him go.

“Those are the finest troopers I’ve ever fought alongside,” He started. “Echo. You and I go way back… If that’s where you feel your place is, then that’s where you belong.”

It hurt.  _ Kriff _ , it hurt to say it. Rex knew he would rarely, if ever, see Echo again. He already lost him once and now he was going to lose him again. But this time was different. This time, he was still alive. He could always find ways to contact Echo. Even if it wasn’t going to be the same.

Nothing ever was going to be the same, anyway. Rex knew that, he did. It’s why he told Echo what he did. Something he learned being a captain was that sometimes you did have to let things go, even if you didn’t want to. And this is a time that Rex knew, and understood. It was what Echo needed, and Rex wouldn’t stand in between Echo and him feeling like he belonged. 

Echo nodded and looked at Rex with a sad smile. “Thank you, Rex. Thank you.”

He was pulled into a hug that he wasn’t expecting. Rex was shocked but quickly reacted, wrapping his arms around Echo. It was warm, inviting. Something Rex hadn’t felt in such a long time. This hug was something he had been wanting and needing for so long without even realizing it. To finally get what he needed was so relieving. For a moment, all of Rex’s worries left him. It’s something that happened with Echo. 

“Ni kelir partaylir gar,” Rex said softly, gripping a little bit tighter. 

“Bal Ni yo,” Echo whispered back, using his one real hand to tighten his grip on Rex’s shoulder.

Rex finally let go of Echo and took a step back. They shared one last short, affirming nod before they both turned and went opposite directions. Rex told himself to not look back, knowing that it would hurt but he couldn’t help it. He needed one last look at Echo, just in case it was his last.

Echo turned around and saluted him, making Rex smile. The entire Bad Batch saluted too. Rex placed his helmet on the ground, and when he stood back up he saluted back out of respect. Slowly, he brought his arm back down and bent down to grab his helmet, pausing while he was kneeling to look at the Bad Batch while they bored their ship. Rex turned around this time and didn’t look back, taking a deep breath as he walked away.

And Rex let Echo go.

**Author's Note:**

> vod(e) -brother(s)  
> kriff - fuck  
> Ni kelir partaylir gar - I will remember you  
> Bal Ni yo - and I you


End file.
